Wrote this eight years ago; it rings true, still.

Spring is here. I notice the brown water pooling in the bathroom sink as I wash hands after a day in the garden, and welcome the first forearm rash of the season, and I look forward to all this year brings.   

burn me

sun

                burr me

burdock

                bite into me

bugs 

land in my tangles

leaves

scratch, stick

and prick me

thorns

stain me

berries

resonate

with my senses

resin

rough up my skin

rocks

dry, and dye

my hands

soil

steal my breath

morning air

sneak into my house

duff

fall over me

rain

                and after it all

embrace my body

icy river

this is life

and I am alive